Metallurgical apparatus



Feb. 11,1936. D. L; SUMMEY METALLURGICAL APPARATUS Original Filed May 14, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Jil /D Z fay/45x Feb. 11, 1936. U E 2,030,482

METALLURGICAL APPARATUS I Original Filed 'May 14, 932 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 n u I win! D. L. SUMMEY METALLURGICAL APPARATUS Feb. 11, 1936.

Original Filed May 14, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Feb. 11, 1936.

D. L. SUMMEY 2,030,482

METALLURGICAL APPARATUS Original Filed May 14, 1932. v5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR J B l/ JQ'ATTORNEYJT Feb. 11, 1936. D. L. SUMMEY METALLURGICAL APPARATUS Original Filed May 14, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR flay/p L.- Jam i i. i k Q Patented Feb. 11, 1936 METALLURGICAL APPARATUS David L. Summey, Waterbury. Com; TheColonial Trust Company and Richard P. Weeks Summey, executors of said David L. Summey, deceased, assignors to Scovill Manufacturing Company, Waterbury, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application May 14, 1932, Serial No. 611,294

Renewed December 20, 1934 I v 7 Claims. This invention relates to metallurgical appa ratus, particularly to apparatus for casting and conveying metal billets; bars, slabs or other'workable shapes and'has for an object the provision of improvements in this art. The invention may be variously embodied but is herein illustrated as a unit of a plant.for producing oxygen-free copper by a process claimed in my co-pending application, Serial Number 535,829, filed May 8,

1931, so the present description will be especially directed to that embodiment In the accompanying drawings thereof which form a part of this specification:

, 4-40f Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged section of the billet discharging mechanism; v

Referring to'Figs. l and 2, the plant as herein shown comprises a pour hearth l0 which may oscillate about its central horizontal axis Z, a hooded strainer unit II which may move up and down vertically, a mold wheel or carrier frame l2 which is rotatable about a vertical axis Y, a cooling vat orbosh tank 13, and a billet submerging device l4. The pour hearth maybe used either for melting metal or for maintaining it in a molten condition. It is designed to produce or maintain metal in a very high state of purity and for this purpose may be heated by electrical induction units I5, is completely enclosed to exclude atmospheric air, and is supplied with a covering such as carbon C above the metal bathdrical and is provided at about its mid-height at one corner with a spout [6 which is inclined outwardly in a horizontal plane from the end 'of the hearth. This location furnishes the maximum discharge of metal with the minimum movement of the hearth and permits of the sealing of the space about the spout by an articulated hood of simple design. .The hood includes a spring pressed sealing plate "which moves with the spout and the box-like hood or caslng 48 which moves with the strainer II.

a plane which is parallel to the end of the hearth. Gas from a source 20 may be supplied to the casing l8 by way of a pipe 2i. The pipe has a slip joint 22 to accommodate the movements of the casing. The strainer and related parts are described more in detail and are claimed in my copending application, Serial Number 608,17! filed April 29th, 1932.

The mold wheel l2 supports a plurality of molds 25 which are moved in succession beneath the strainer ll. When an empty mold is positioned fairly beneath the strainer the latter is lowered until it rests upon the flat top of the mold so as substantially to form a tight seal therewith.

The mold at the bottom is provided with a hinged cap 26 which is fastened by a U-shaped latch 21. The cap hangs slightly open as the mold arrives at pouring position. After the mold has been halted in position the cap is pushed up tightly against the bottomof the mold by a vertically disposed ram 28 which is located at this position. The ram may be operated by hydraulic pressure controlled by hand or otherwise, preferably by hand, since it'is contemplated that an H operator will be stationed near this position anyway. v

The mold wheel I2 (Fig. 3) is mounted upon a fixed base 29, anti-friction bearings 30 being used-between the wheel and base. The hub 3i of the wheel has a tight rotating fit with the tubular core 32 of the base, a sealing ring 33 being used if desired. The space about the bear-' ing joint is sealed by an annular circumferentially split jacket 34 part of which is flxedto the base and part of which is attached to the wheel. This jacket protects the bearings from dust.

Means are provided for turning the wheel. In the present embodiment (Fig. 3) the wheel is provided with an annular bevel gear 35 which is Apart of 'the casing l8 bears against the plate ll along.

driven by a pinion 36 fast on a drive shaft 31. I

The shaft 31 is mounted in bearings 38 secured beneath the base 29. The shaft is connected by flexible couplings 39 to a horizontal gear shaft 40. Through suitable worm gearing 4t, 42 the shaft 40 is driven by a vertical gear shaft 43 which through suitable worm gearing 44, 45 is driven by a motor shaft 46 of a motor M.

The mold wheel is equipped to supply either water or air for cooling the molds. Ordinarily only one type of mold is used at a time and most of the molds which are shown in Figs. 1-4 are water cooled. One air cooled mold is shown to indicate its air supply connections. This mold is divided longitudinally as shown in Figures 3 and 4 to allow the billet to be discharged. Referring to Fig. 3, water at the desired temperature is supplied by an inlet main 48 and is withdrawn after service at the molds by an outlet main 49. At the vertical axis of the mold wheel the inlet and outlet mains are concentrically arranged and are provided with packed turn joints 50, 5| respectively to supply rotatable inlet and exhaust headers 52, 53. A plurality of fianged nipples 54, 55 in the inlet and outlet headers respectively connect with a plurality of inlet and outlet pipes 55, 51. The inlet pipes connect interiorly (i. e., near the axis of the wheel) to the upper ends of the mold jackets 58, while the outlet pipes connect exteriorly with the lower ends of the mold jackets. As shown in Fig. 4 each set of inlet and outlet pipes is dividedtoward the outer end by laterals 59, 68 and branches GI, 62 whereby to supply a plurality (three here) of molds. The molds and piping may be quickly disconnected and removed if desired. The brackets 53 which support the molds are likewise readily removable from'their anchorages on the carrier frame (see Fig. 3) to permit replacement by brackets of other types for other types oi. molds.

At the right of Figs. 1,3 and 4 an air cooled mold 85 is shown in place of water cooledmolds. This mold is supplied with air by pipes 65 which are attached about openings 61 to an annular series of boxes 58 formed in the wheel. Air is supplied to the boxes through interior openings 88 which connect with the tubular space within the wheel and the core 82 of the base. An annular plate Ill covers the upper end of the central air space about the water mains and has a packed rotatable bearing with the outer main 48. Air is supplied beneath the base within the floor trench within which the water mains are disposed by anair main II.

Means are herein provided for cooling the billets or such other' shapes as are cast in the molds, after they drop out of the molds. As

4 shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the molds pass over one comer of the bosh tank l3. While a billet isbeing poured at the strainer another which has solidified is being discharged into the tank. If the water-cooled molds are being used, an operator releases the latch 21 to allow the cap to swing open and the billet to fall out. If it does not drop readily it may be cooled further by pouring cold water on it. If the air-cooled molds are being used the operator opens them and prys the billets out.

The billets fall endwise (Fig. 5) upon the step 14 oi. an elevator 15 which descends with the billet into the water in the tank. The step is inclined outwardly to cause the billet to fall over sidewise after its upper end has cleared the lower end of the mold. The elevator moves along vertical supporting guides I5 which are attached to.

the side of the tank.

The elevator is operated by cables 11 which are attached to the elevator by a shock absorbing spring bolt 18. The cables pass over fixed sheaves 19 at the upper edge of the tank and over movable sheaves 80 which are-mounted on a piston rod 8| and are anchored at their other ends 82 to any convenient fixed member. The piston rod is operated by a piston 53 working out of the mold and falls over in the tank. The

valve 85 preferably is operated by hand but the arrangement may be otherwise. Icontrol the fiow of fluid to the head end of the cylinder so this may be referred as variable pressure fluid. The fluid pressure is maintained in the rod end of the cylinder so this may be referred to as constant pressure fluid. The supply 01' fluid may come from a common main and be admitted to the opposite ends of the cylinder at the same pressure. The force on the head end of the piston will be greater because theeffectivesurface area is greater (by the amount of the cross secalways move toward the rod end when variable pressure is exerted on the head end. When variable pressure is cut oil! the. piston returns toward the head end under constant pressure to raise the elevator 15.

and shortly after the mold has been halted, the

cap is pushed up tightly against the bottom of ,the mold by the ram-positioned therebeneath.

Cooling fluid is circulated around the mold at all times. The air cooled mold shown has no hinged bottom so the ram is not operated for it. It is left slightly open until after it has been halted in pouring position and is then tightly closed. The hood and strainer are raised and the ram lowered and the mold wheel is turned to remove the filled mold and place an empty mold beneath the strainer. The top of the cooling billet is protected from the air as soon as it leaves the hood. For example, a handful of carbon (charcoal) or other protecting substance may be thrown into the upper end of the mold to cover the billet and if desired a metal plate may beslid over the mold above this. As the molds reach the bosh tank they stop over the elevator and when the latch is removed the caps open and the solidified but still hot billet drops down upon the elevator and is submerged and removed as described above. At some place between the dumping position and the filling position the molds are carefully coated with a suitable material to procure a smooth surface on the billets and to prevent the billets from sticking to the molds. The coating may be a wash of bone ash and water. Here the 'caps are swung tional area of the piston rod) so the piston will up and the latches are operated to hold the caps 4 in partly closed'position ready for the gas purging operation. I

While one embodiment of the invention has been described in detail it is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the invention as set forth in the subioined claims.

I claim:

1. Casting apparatus comprising in combination, a fixed base, a movable carrier mounted above the base, a plurality of molds thereon, a closing cap for the bottom of each mold, means disposed in a given position on said base beneath the path of the caps of the molds for forcing the caps closed when the molds arehalted above said cap-closing means, and means for holding said caps in, closed position.

2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which said means includes a vertically movable power operated ram.

3. Casting apparatus comprising in combination, a movable carrier, a plurality of molds supported thereon, a cooling tank located in a given position below the pathoi said molds, an elevator at said tank including resilient means for checking the-fall of billets from said molds into said tank and means to operate the elevator.

' upon said conveyor..

5. Casting apparatus comprising in combination, a movable carrier, a plurality of molds supported thereon. a vertically movable elevator for 7 resiliently checking the fall of billets from the molds, and an inclined billet-supporting step on said elevator for causing billets to-fall over sidewise after they clear the molds. v

6. Casting apparatus comprising in combination, a verticalamold, a removable cap closing the bottom otthe mold, an elevator for receiving a billet from said mold when the cap is removed.

a cylinder and piston for operating said elevator, means for supplying fluid under constant pressure to the one end of said cylinder for raising said elevator and for furnishing a cushion for 10 the falling billet, and means for supplying fluid under variable pressure to the other end 01' said cylinder for lowering the elevator.

7. Metal casting apparatus, comprising in combination, a mold wheel c rying a plurality of molds, bottom closures toisaid molds means at a first station in the path of movement of said molds for closing the bottoms of the molds halted thereat, means at a second station for pouring metal in the molds, means at a third station for receiving and cooling. billets cast in the molds,

said means including an elevator for easing the fall 01' the billets and dropping them over on their sides, a tank of water for receiving the billets and a conveyor for removing the billets from the tank. 1 n

' 1 DAVID L. SUMMEY. 

